Telephone sound reproducer



May 7, 1935 H. D. KNAPP 2,000,523

TELEPHONE SOUND REPRODUCER Filed uarn 13, 1931 Fig. 5.

.Patented May 7, 1935 2,000,523

UNITEDV STATES PATENT ori-ics TELEPHONE SOUND BEPRODUCER Harold D. Knapp, Merchantville, N. J., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Radio Corporation of America, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 1s, 1 931, sci-isi No. 522,295 s claims. (ci. 11s-isz) My invention relates to telephone sound reor -all-of the chambers by properly proportioned producers and it has particular relation to auxpassage-ways to permit ready. although not t iliary devices for' adapting such reproducers to rapid, flow of oir from compressed POItiOnS 0f the use by invalids. l the cushion vto other portions or from the inside I am aware that it has, previously, been proof the cushion to the outside thereof.` These pas- 5 posed to dispose a. telephone receiver within a Sage-Ways are preferably 0f Such nature as t0 pillow or the like but all devices of this nature, effect further reduction of inside cushion mamade according to the teachings of the prior art tel'lal t0 increase SoftneSS and lightness. In use and with which I am familiar, have had the folmy cushion is adapted to fit into the usual pillow l0 lowing. main defects: they have lacked ycomense, Or other removableeevering. 10 fortableness by reason of lack of softness and re- Other Objects 0f my invention Will become eVisiiiency, and some have been 1urnpy in puces; the dent from the following detailed description. assembly of their `component parts during manutaken in conjunction With the eeeompanying facture has been difficult and expensive; diiiidrawing, in Wl'lieh culty has been encountered, generally, in the F18'- 1 iS e View, iny perspective. 0f a Cushion l5 proper cleansing and sterilization of cushions at reproducer made in accordance with my invenhospitals; and the reproducer units have been tion; Y removable with difnculty, if at 9,11,y Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken cen- Itis, accordingly, an object of my invention to` trally through `the Cushion reproduoer Shown in 2'0 provide a cushion, adapted to be combined with Fig. 13 20 a sound reproducer, or resilient material having Fie. 3 is a partially exploded view in perspecsuoh ,a construction as to increase the softness tive of my cushion reproducen Showing portions and lightness of the cushion, of the internal construction out away; y

Another object of my invention is to provide Fig. 4 iS e Plan View 0f a medied ferm 0f m a device of the type described requiring invention showing a half portion of a molded 25 material. cushion prior to assembly;

Anotherobject or my invention is to provide a Fie- 5 is a sectional view, in side elevation, of cushion of general utility having a water-proof my modified form, showing two halves of the external surface which is smooth and .substan- CUSiiiOn in assembled relation, each half eOlTe- 80 tie-ily freefrom air bubbles or imperfections. Spending t0 that ShOWn in Fie. 4; 30

Another object of my invention is to provide Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of the circuit oona substantially waterproof cushion loi! a material neCtiOn 0f the Volume C0nt10l ShOWn in Fig. 1; and construction particularly adapted to steril- Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the circuit conzation and cleansing. fnection of the tone control combination shown Another object of my invention is to provide a in Fig-'5; 35

. cushion 'having such resilient internal structure Fig. 8 is a side elevation View in Section Show' that a sound reproducer, when disposed in operaing a modified form of my invention. tive position therein, is protected from external Referringfto the drawing, Figures 1, 2 and 3 injury regardless of rough handling. serve toA illustrate one form of my inventionrin 4,0 Still another object of my invention is to prowhich the exterior cushion construction com- 4o vide an inexpensive cushion adapted for comprises a thick rectangular Sheet l, 2 0f Spenge bination with a sound reproducer, capable of rubber, having therein a. sound emitting passage being manufactured quickly, easily and in 3 for the users ear. 'I'his sheet is folded over quantitieS- i with the edges thereof in alignment, means such According to my invention, a cushion of soft, as cement being used to secure the edges to- 45 coherent Amaterial suchl as sponge rubber, felt, gether. As an example, a thick sheet of or the like, -and having any desired shape, is rubber having sufficient width to constitute the constructed with a plurality of properly dislength of the cushion and sufficient length to contributed inside hollow spaces or chambers and stitute twice the width plus the thickness of the supporting partitions therebetween. The pre'scushion, is used. Although I `have`il1ustra`ted 50 ence of these hollow spaces increases the softa unitary sheet consisting of two folded portions, ness and lightness by the reduction of inside the latter may, of course, be separate sheets. cushion material. Although in some cases it sandwiched between the upper and lower poi-, may be desirable to permit the chambers to entions of the sheet i is included the internal convclose entrapped air, I prefer to interconnect some struction comprising a plurality of spaced strips 5, 1, 9, as of sponge rubber, blocks I4 of similar material, and built-up structure comprising layers, I5, I6, I1, I8, i9, 20 preferably also of sponge rubber in criss-crossed relation in such 5 manner as to provide the desired softness, and to removably support the speaker unit 25 preferably centrally within the cushion. l

Although I have designated sponge rubber as my preferred material throughout, I may, in some cases, employ material such as felt, or a combination of felt and rubber. For example, I can use rubber` for the exterior and felt in the interior structure of the cushion.

Although the above internal supporting structure is shown in place upon the lower portion of the sheet I, with the upper portion torn away for clearness of illustration, during manufacture this internal structure is actually first built upon the upper portion of the sheet for the purpose of insuring proper alignment of the speaker unit and the apertured layer IG with the sound aperture 3 in the upper sheet portion. This supporting structure is secured together and to said upper sheet portion as by cement, and the lower por- 25 tion is then folded to place as shown in Fig. l, the edges of the portions being secured together. Parts of the layers I5, Il, and VI9 are cut away to provide a pocket for receiving and holdingthe speaker or sound reproducer 25 in operative position with respect to thesound passage 3.

In this construction, pieces 21 of rubberized fabric or other desirable material are secured in place around the opening 2l. These pieces extend within the cushion, as shown, for the purpose of covering the exposed rough edges of the sponge rubber and for reinforcingvthe opening. This provides a smooth, protected opening in the endof the pillow for the insertion of the speaker-unit through the channel 2| between the layers I8 and 40 I9. If desired, fastening means may be provided at the opening 28 for the purpose of insuring more complete closing of said opening after insertion of said speaker unit.

The speaker cords 3l extend from the opening 28 in the end of the pillowto make external electrical connections as with a centralized program distributionsystem or with a radio receiving set. In some cases it has been found desirable to prov1de means for manual control, by the user, of the sound reproduction. Means such as a volume control device 32 is conveniently located adjacent the cushion, orplaced inside the opening 28, the adjustment being made by means of a knob 34, the shaft of which is, preferably, in the plane of the housing of the device 32. The circuit diagram of the volume control potentiometer connection is shown in Fig. 6. By moving the sliding contact 34 to the 'zero end of the potentiometer, the user can cut off the reproduction of sound.

70 For large quantity production I prefer to construct my improved cushion .in complementary sections, e. g. two halves, preferably similar, secured together as by cement or other fastening means, having the partitions and hollow spaces 75 or chambers molded therein. Furthermore. in

If desired, a snap switch 11 may be employed for 4 structure -or partitions and interconnected by' the molding process, a protecting skin is caused to so cover the pores of the entire sponge rubber structure that, when the cushion is cleansed, the cleansing liquid will not be absorbed by the porous sponge rubber. In the built-up form of cushion of Figs. 1 to 3,-only the outside surface and the uncut portions of the inside, ordinarily, have the protective skin covering. If desirable, a skin or layer of rubber may be placed over the sound passages 3 and 4 on the exterior surface of the cushion, and the opening 28 may be sealed, thus providing a cushion .completely impervious to liquid. 'I'he seal at the opening could be broken if it were necessary to remove the speaker unit.

In case material such as felt should be used in the construction, a water-proof rubber skin could be employed as a covering for the `felt.

.Such skin might be sprayed on or otherwise applied.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, I have provided a plurality of inside air chambers 45, 41, 49, 50, l1 and passageways 46, 48, 52, 54, 56 for the4 purpose of connecting some or all of the chambers, adding softness and pliability, as above mentioned, and for permitting ready draining of water or moisture that may collect in said chambers. A depression 65 forms a pocket for receiving and holding in place the speaker unit 25. Said unit `is inserted through opening 2l, through the chan- Because of the overall skin protection above A mentioned, the opening 2l, ordinarily, needs no pieces of reinforcing' fabric, as in the above described construction, although they may be provided if desired. Thediiference in level between passage 61 and socket 65 tends to prevent accidental displacement of the unit. The chamber 50 permits an extra long telephone cord 3l to be ploy a tone-control 10 of= any well known type for adjusting the proportion of high and low frequencies to suit the listener. This control device is shown as mounted inside' the' enlarged space 5U with a control knob 1I protruding through the opening. The circuit diagram showv ing the connection of the tone control 1l with the reproducer and leads is shown in Fig. 1. Any conventional type of control circuit may be used, the one illustrated consisting of a ilxed condenser 66 of appropriate size and a variable resistor 12. A switch 11 is provided in the lead 3 I, preferably located external to the cushion, for the convenience of the user, to readily connect or disconnect the speaker unit from the source of supply. If desirable, a switch may be combined with the tone control device 1l, operable by the control knob 1I.

To lessen the cost of manufacture, the sound apertures 3 and 4 are provided in both upper and lower sections of the cushion, respectively, permitting both sections to be identical in construces within thecushion and theircon- -eilectively distributed throughout the cushion,

thus enabling the user to hear programs with reduced intensity by placing his ear against the cushion at portions other than that directly over the sound aperture. The placing of a plurality oi' lopenings 68 in the reproducer casing, rearwardly of the diaphragm, permits transmission of sound waves directly into the passages and air chambers, serving to facilitate the sound distribution throughout the pillow.' This construction also appears to improve the quality of sound that comes from the unit through the passage 3 directly to the exterior.

A still more simplled and inexpensive cushion embodying features of my invention may be produced by utilizingy only `one of the two molded portions shown .in Fig. 5, covering the exposed face having the chambers and passage-ways andv speaker pocket with a stock sheet of rubber like that shown at l in Fig. 3.

This proposed modiiication, which is illustrated in Fig.` 8, comprises a molded sponge rubber section 13, having therein a plurality of chambers and passages as shown in Fig. 4. The recess or pocket 85 is, preferably, made slightly deeper to permit the bottom of the speaker unit to be substantially iiush with the lower face of the cushion section 1l. A lower section or sheet 'Il of sponge rubber, or other appropriate material, is secured to the otherwise open face of the upper section 'II by means of cement or temporary fastening means. In this modification I have shown the speaker cord 3| extending through an opening 1l in the bottom plate.

Ordinarily, the opening I5 is large enough to permit the e therethrough, by hand, of the speaker unit for the same purpose as disclosed above. If desired.'h0wever, this opening may be small and may nt closely around the speaker cord and the speakermay bepermanently mounted in its pocket, before thelower section 'I4 is secured in place, with no provision for its removal. 'In such. case the opening 3 would, preferably, be sealed, as by a thin covering of rubber. Although in this construction I have shown the section 'I3 as. thov upper one, with the speaker unit pointing toward it, obviously, thereverse arrangement could be used. l

Although the above described construction has particular utility in connection with large cushions, it should be obvious to one skilled in the art that my improved device, if made suiilciently small in size, could be used in connection with ear phones, e. g., in aviators' helmets for purposes of telephone communication. In such case the cushion construction is eiiicient in keeping out loud external disturbances, and because of its soft and pliable construction it does not hurt or tire the ears.

Although I have shown and described certain specific modifications of my invention, I am fully aware that many lmodiiications thereof are possible. My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofarl asl is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. In combination, a sound producing device provided with a main sound outlet and at least one minor sound outlet, a cushion surrounding said device, the cushion being provided with a l,inain sound outlet to the exterior thereof, in "alignment with the main sound outlet of the device, and means within the interior of the cushion providing a plurality ot resonating chambers in acoustic communication with the minor soundv outlet of said sound producing device.

2. A cushion sound reproducer comprisinga pair of thick sheets of soft rubber forming the external structure of said cushion, an internal structure oi soft resilient coherent material, an

opening in the edge of the cushion for the inserpair of complementary sections, a plurality of open ended chambers and partitions in one of said sections, a recess in said section for receiving a sound producing device in operative acoustic relation wit-h the exterior of said section, the other oi' said sections being secured to said first named section for covering the exposed ,ends of said chambers and said recess, and-,passage ways through said partitions for interconnecting said chambers.

,HAROLD D. KNAPP. 

